I was first introduced to Melissa through a mutual friend. Our first meet-up was short, but filled with a lot of laughs. Since then, I’ve become a big fan of hers. She is a certified health and wellness coach, sharing her workouts via workshops and the fitner app. She also recently launched her new website where she shares tips and advice on food, lifestyle, beauty, and fitness; all with a lot of passion, love, and her signature big smile. I had a chance to ask her about how she got started as a coach, how she cleared her cystic acne, her current skincare routine, her philosophy, and more. Here’s our chat...

Munemi: Many people have a story about what became the turning point in their career and life. Was that true for you? What motivated and inspired you to become and health and wellness coach?

Melissa: Oh yes, this is definitely true for me. I will never forget the turning point in my life. I was on this beautiful trip and feeling so empty inside. I kept looking around thinking I’m in this beautiful place and should be happy, but I wasn’t. After the trip I took a weekend to myself, I made no plans but to be with myself. Every day I did things that truly made me happy and made a list at the end of the day of everything that lit me up. I wrote down rollerblading, eating a delicious plant based meal, getting a good night’s sleep, meditating, and yoga. Something really clicked for me from this list. I realized that everything that fills me up centered around health and wellness, taking good care of myself and feeling amazing in my own skin. I literally enrolled in The Institute For Integrative Nutrition the next day. I became a health coach to help other people find their happy the same way I found mine.

I think mornings set the tone for the day, what’s your morning routine like before you leave for work? And how does it differ on the weekends?

My morning routine is very sacred to me and as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning I say one thing I’m extremely grateful for. I glance at my phone for one second to see what time it is without looking at anything else on my phone. I read my lesson in “A Course In Miracles” and then meditate for 20 minutes. This is all if I get lucky before Benjamin wakes up. Some days he’s my alarm clock and then I do my routine as soon as I can which is either when he goes to camp now or when his nanny arrives the days he’s home. I make this a priority everyday because it makes me a better mom and all around better person.

You now have beautiful skin, but you’ve shared with me that you used to struggle with cystic acne, can you tell us how you were able to change your skin?

Thank you so much for the compliment. It all shifted when I started looking at myself differently. I read the book “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay. She shares this mantra that shifted my entire perspective towards how I look at myself. The mantra, “I love and accept myself exactly the way I am” changed my life. I still say this to myself today when I look in the mirror. One more very important thing I shifted was what I put in my body and on my skin. Eating a plant based diet and eliminating all animal products changed my skin almost immediately. Knowing and understanding what was in my skincare was a big game changer. I stopped using all the products that were recommended to me by doctors (crazy right) and started using products like MUN Akwi Purifying Cleanser and Aknari Brightening Youth Serum with clean ingredients I knew and could pronounce.

What is your current skincare routine in the morning and evening to maintain your clear skin?

I love your “three M’s” and #mindfullyfit concept (Daily Meditation, Mindful Eating, Movement.) and think they are great, but sometimes it’s true that things are easier said than done. How would you advise people who would like to incorporate these elements into their daily life, but are also feeling like they have too much going on and don’t feel like they have enough time? Where should they start?

Great question, my best advice is don’t find the time…make the time. Even if you have to wake up earlier or reduce the time you’re scrolling on Instagram in the morning. I meditate most days for 20 minutes, but not everyday looks like that, some days it’s 10 minutes or five, but no matter what I get something in every single day because it makes me show up as a better person in everything I do. Same goes for daily movement. I’ve created 15 min, 22 min and 42 min flows on my Fitner app channel for those days you can’t get a full hour workout in (which for me is most days now). The idea is to do something every day because it’s in the discipline where you will see the results.

Do you have any bedtime reading recommendations before indulging in our shared favorite “beauty sleep?”

Yes, “A Course In Miracles,” “A Return To Love,” and “The Law of Divine Compensation.”

Learn more about Melissa’s approach to health, wellness, and fitness via her site and follow along her journey on Instagram.

As an international makeup artist, Munemi sees many different types of skin, but she knows that every one needs nurturing, balancing and brightening to achieve that youthful glow. She also knows firsthand that our #MUNGLOW starts with a healthy and mindful lifestyle. She shares her tips and knowledge right here and in our newsletters!